Cherry Flavored Water Lilies
by sunflower7000
Summary: Dave was a pretty cool kid. You know, until he was almost drowned by a mischievous water troll with a serious obsession with him. With her insane thirst for adventure, things may turn out disastrous. But whatever. In a really screwed up way, she's kind of cool too. T for swearing. Magical AU. Davezi
1. Chapter 1

**== Dave: Be the cool kid, have a mental breakdown.**

You are now Dave Strider and had you not been in the middle of a mental breakdown, that ironic oxymoron would have made your day. Unfortunately, you were. So the pure coolness of the statement fell on deaf ears.

But don't get the wrong idea. You weren't usually like this. To put it simply, you were actually pretty awesome. But your face was tired of constantly staying emotionless, and your eyes were tired of looking through your sunglasses in the dim twilight, and overall you weren't feeling that hot at the moment.

Which, of course, made this this perfect place to relax for a bit. You were currently kneeling along the edge of a shallow pond, the wind ruffling your blond-white hair as you gazed at your reflection below. You'd removed your shades (after making sure no one was around of course) and you could see your bright red irises staring back at you. The whole spot was in a secluded part of the forest by your new house, surrounded by the swooping branches of several weeping willows. It wasn't exactly ironic or cool, but it gave you a few minutes peace when you needed it.

You'd found this place by accident. Right after he'd been forced to move in with your drunken aunt and weird cousin. You'd ran off into the woods to escape; praying to find your Bro, hoping to God the loser would pop out of nowhere and laugh at you, joking about how you had been gullible enough to fall for the shit story they'd fed you. That he hadn't gone missing at all and you were still his easily-deceived-kid-brother and you could go home together-

"Hey cool kid, you okay?"

Your train of thought broke as a voice echoed over the empty pond. You immediately straightened up, quickly wiping away the tears that had been forming in your eyes. You looked around the clearing, praying the voice wasn't a kid from school or worse; your cousin. But it was empty, and silent for that matter. You began to rub your temples.

"I really must be losing it. Maybe I should have taken Rose up on that offer for a therapy session..." You grumbled, now feeling a headache coming on.

"You sure you're okay?" The voice called again.

"Yep. Absolutely peachy, my dear imaginary voice. You know I just might want to throw a party in the current state I'm in."

The voice didn't answer for a minute, and then started cackling. You felt yourself grimace at the sharp sound.

"You want me to make it better?"

"Be my guest." You reply, still massaging your forehead in attempt to get rid of the voice.

"Look down at the water." The voice said seriously.

You were surprised at the commanding tone the voice had taken, and slowly, albeit a bit hesitantly, looked down at your reflection again. Two red orbs glowed just below the surface, moving upward a leisurely speed.

"What the hell?"

The space beneath the glowing lights opened to reveal a wide mouth lined with a perfect row of sharp teeth set in a psychotic looking smile. The pond water started swirling around, creating whirlpools around whatever owned the toothy grin. You felt the sudden instinct to get off your ass and move, but the red orbs that you now assumed were eyes locked you in place. Fear crept over you as the voice simply cackled.

"It's okay! Everything will get better, you'll see!" It said in a sing song voice.

Jets of water shot out of the pool, wrapping around your neck and torso, pulling you into the pond. Your body plunged into the cold water, but whatever was grabbing you refused to loosen its grip. The watery face was back in front of you now, its eyes still illuminating the deep with their soft red light. You felt captivated by them again, and your struggling weakened with his thinning lungs. Then without warning the mouth of the monster pushed itself onto your lips, locking you into a passionate kiss and stealing what little air you'd retained in your lungs. The being broke apart from you and smiled with upmost joy. You felt fuzzy blackness seeping around your vision. The creature frowned at you, but you simply struggled to reach the surface again; your want for air overwhelming the rest of your senses. But you were held against your will firmly, and with final bubbles of air escaping from your mouth, you sank from confusion into darkness.

**== Terezi: Be the hero, save the cool-kid-in-distress.**

You are now Terezi Pyrope and currently lifting a body onto the bank of the pond, a frown now plastered on your face. The task wasn't going very well due to your blind state, but you were trying.

Stupid fragile humans; you'd only been having a little fun. He'd smelled really good too! And he'd looked like for a second there he'd actually enjoyed the kiss! Plus if the kid had kept kissing you, you could have turned him into a fish or something. The thought made you smile. But now he was probably dead, the moron. Well at least he looked dead. You hoped not. A dead person was definitely not as cool as a live person or a fish. Particularly the latter. Stupid kid going and being all dead and stuff.

You felt the need to help him though; after all you did probably almost drown him. You closed your red eyes and concentrated on the boy, sensing the water in him. You managed to locate his lungs and slowly emptied them, streaming the water from his mouth. Not exactly water powers at their finest, but it got the job done. When you were finished, the boy continued to lay there unmoving. You made your way over to him, careful to keep your bottom half in the water, and poked his pale pink flesh.

"Hey." You said, poking his arm again.

"Hey kid." Poke.

"Heyhey. You okay?" Poke. Poke.

Pokepokepokepokepokepokepoke.

"Heyheyheyheyheyheyhey-"

"OHMYGODSHUTUPANDSTOPPOKINGME" The cool kid sputtered out, coming to life before you.

You sensed that his eyes were still closed, but you heard his chest rise and fall with haphazard movements. He sat up and coughed a few times, water you'd been unable to remove flying out of his mouth. He wiped it away and turned to face you, his eyelids revealing his very angry cherry red irises. Boy did those smell delicious. You wondered if his blood was that color too...

"What happened?"

The question came emotionless. His sudden burst of anger melting back into his stoic personality. You didn't really know how to respond.

"You almost drowned, human boy."

He shook his head and you felt him glaring into your blind eyes.

"You're the creature that dragged me into the pond." He said with just a hint of anger.

You mouth burst into its usual wide sneer.

"Yep, that's me! Honestly you should be more careful; most of us wouldn't have bothered reviving you."

You sensed his confidence falter.

"...What are you."

"Nixie, Naiad, Water-Spirit, Watertroll, Mermaid, whatever the hell you wanna call me. I prefer Terezi though, if you're curious."

"Terezi...?"

"My name, silly. Terezi Pyrope at your service."

"..."

"Would you mind if I asked what yours is?"

"...Dave…Strider."

You giggled again, making him flinch.

"Well Dave! Welcome back to life! And sorry about earlier, I wasn't expecting a human. Your scent really deceives."

He simply stared at you. What an awkward kid.

**== Dave: Collect your wits and handle this like a civilized person.**

Nope. Not gonna happen.

You'd contemplated briefly on whether or not this was a dream. Obviously the creature in front of you was not human, but the one-sided poke war you'd just received seemed to prove this was reality. You'd managed to keep your cool so far, but the situation was quickly setting in. After all, you'd just been almost-drowned/saved by some sort of... Mermaid. But this chick wasn't some derpy red-headed mute from your average Disney movie. Now that she was out of the water and not trying to kill you, you saw her appearance was still pretty damn creepy. Her red eyes illuminated her face, casting a weird shadow on her pale grey skin. Her raven black hair went down to her shoulders, with two cone-shaped horns poking out from the top of it. She was wearing some sort of dress that seemed to blend in with the surrounding plant life, and below her waist was a silvery tail with thousands of glittering scales. You didn't even know what to say.

"Helllloooo? Earth to Dave? Don't tell be you suffered a mild case of serious brain damage when I tried to drown you. You weren't almost-dead for that long..."

"W-what the hell is going on here?" You stuttered out.

Anxiety seeped into you.

"I'm talking to you…?

"But you're not supposed to exist!" You yelled at her.

"I'm currently existing if you're still a bit confused." She replied, seeming a bit annoyed.

"No! You're just a figment of my imagination! From story books! Ohmygodwhatsgoingon. Am I dead? Did you kill me? Or am I just insane? Yeah... That's probably it. Ohmygodohmygodohmygod."

"Whoa there cool kid. It's okay. Wow, it's a miracle I ever mistook you for something other than human. But it's alright! You're okay now, see?"

You shook your head.

"You're a myth."

"Dude. I'm right in front of you."

"I don't care."

You watched her inhuman face frown again.

"Come closer."

"Nope. Not gonna happen."

"Fine I'll come to you."

She lifted herself out of the water, and you watched in horror as her tale faded into legs. Her skin tone paled into a pearly white and her horns retracted into her head. She looked like a ghost. Almost human, but you could definitely tell something was off. She walked over a little unsteadily, and kneeled down next to you. You stared warily at her.

"Do you trust me?"

"Do I look like I'm in a situation to trust you?"

She laughed.

"Not really. But if you keep denying the existence of magical creatures you're gonna kill a belief-fairy or something."

"Let them all die."

"Dave! That's a horrible thing to say. Especially because I'm related to them." She huffed.

"What the fuck is happening right now."

"Me trying to prove that I exist?"

"Yep, still not sinking in."

She pouted and leaned closer to you.

"Why won't you believe me Dave?" She whined before connecting her lips against yours again.

You were taken by surprise of course. This chick was officially insane. Or had some sort of kissing obsession. But this kiss was different from the last one you'd received from her. It was softer, sweeter, and mixed in with the fact you didn't have to struggle for air underwater; overall better. It felt like a normal kiss (not that you'd really had many of those) and your heart started beating quicker as you began to kiss her back.

You've really lost it now Dave. Why're making out with something that doesn't exist. Oh yeah, and you're officially uncool now. And probably need to see a psychiatrist. But it feels so good to kiss her and obviously she must be real or you've really just lost your mind-

"My Gog you taste delicious. I almost can't get over it." She laughed, pulling away from him.

"So Mr. Coolkid, you believe me now?"

"...Y-yeah... I mean no… I mean… I just don't know…" You said sheepishly, a bit disoriented.

She suddenly went rigid though.

Her head darted around, and her nose started sniffing franticly. You were about to ask what was wrong, but in a flash she was back to her pond, and dived in to the murky depths with barely a sound.

"There you are Dave! We've been looking everywhere for you. The one night she's sober and you run off and leave. Come on, it's almost dark."

You blinked a few times at the water before looking back at your cousin. Rose had an impatient look on her face, a look you'd learned quickly not to mess with. You managed to stand up and walk towards her.

"Hey! You're all wet! What did you do, fall in?"

"Something like that."

"You're very strange kid, Dave Strider." Rose said before turning to walk back towards her house.

All you could do was groan in a mix of frustration and confusion.

"She's right you know!" A voice giggled in your ear.

But when you looked back the clearing was deserted.

**A/N: New multi-chapter story for one of my favorite pairings. Read and Review, but most of all, enjoy!**


	2. Chapter 2

**==Dave: Be fearless, consult your weird occult cousin.**

Okay, so she wasn't that bad. But sometimes she got this scary look on her face and started talking in some weird language. When that happens, you usually made a mad dash for your room. But there was no escape now; and this time there were two of them. Rose and her mom ate their dinner in silence, both stopping to shoot the occasional glare in your direction. Rose argued that they were nothing alike, but at times like these they could be carbon copies. You stared down at your own dinner, which consisted of meatloaf and green beans. You were more of a soda and candy bar kind of guy (food of the Gods, I hope you know), but you knew better than to say anything.

The whole dinner seemed to be a passive-aggressive set up by both the Lalondes. Rose's mom had covered the meatloaf with "I'm so glad you're home so I made you a home-cooked meal" but really it screamed "You ungrateful piece of shit how dare you leave the house without letting us know now as punishment I'm going to serve you crap and glare at you for the next hour with Rose so you know what you've done".

Yeah, it's a real winner of a family. You really couldn't have asked for more.

You were thanking the stars when Rose's mom got up for her after-dinner drink (a pastime both you and Rose enjoyed greatly, nothing like drunk-mom-Lalonde to help you get away with stuff that never would have flown if she was sober) and absconded to the kitchen. Rose cast one last dark look in your direction before excusing herself on the context of studying some recent changes in the stars.

At this point you would have usually taken off to go play some video games or drop some sick beats in your room, but instead you found yourself standing in front of the door to Rose's room, an irritable expression on your face. You worked up the courage to knock.

"Yo Rose! You in there?"

Shuffling could be heard from the other side. Rose opened the door only a crack and gave you a suspicious eye.

"First of all, instead of this 'yo' nonsense I respond better to a simple 'Hello', though I highly doubt your cranial cavity can process that second syllable. Second of all, what the hell do you want, Strider?"

"Good to see you too Rose." You said, smirking at her annoyed demeanor.

"I'm waiting for an answer. That is, if you were even listening."

You roll your eyes. She narrowed hers.

"Don't you dare roll your eyes at me! I don't care if we're family; I'll seriously gl'bgolyb fib'th."

Oh crap. Your glasses were still on the bank of the pond. How could you have forgotten?

"Rose, can we please stick to English here?"

She didn't respond.

"Honestly, I was actually wondering if I could still take you up on the therapy offer. But now I think I'll catch you another time…"

Her eyes immediately lighted up and she threw the door open.

"No! It's okay! I'm speaking English see?" She exclaimed, straitening her T-shirt and fluffing her hair.

"Wait. Let me restart."

She slammed the door in your face. Then opened it calmly a few seconds later.

"It'd be a pleasure to offer my services to you, Mr. Strider. Thank you for coming to your appointment."

"Uhhh… Yeah."

Gosh she was a weird kid. But at least you'd opened a window for them to talk.

Rose led you into her room, quickly shoving knitted clothes and stuffed animals aside to make room for you. It wasn't really doing much though. The whole place looked like an atomic bomb had gone off in it. You thought it funny that such a studious and organized girl like Rose would have such a messy room, but you figured it just another one of her passive-aggressive tendencies towards her mother.

"Thank you for waiting. Please, have a seat."

She motioned towards her hastily made bed, and pulled up a chair beside it. You sat down on the edge of her lavender comforter.

"I appreciate what you're doing here Rose, but seriously all I wanted to do was talk."

"Nonsense. We'll begin the session by discussing your need to come here today. Was there a particular event that triggered your seeking of therapeutic help?"

"Look, I just needed to talk to you about something I saw today and-"

"Hmmm… What was this event? Did it affect you uncharacteristic visit to my office?"

"You're impossible you know that? I just wanted to ask you about… about… well…"

"Well?"

"You're kind of an expert in all that magic stuff right?"

"This is no time for changing the subject, Dave. I believe we were just on the brink of a breakthrough for your psychological condition."

You felt like banging your head against a wall would improve your 'psychological condition' more than this girl. But she could be the only person to give you an explanation for what you saw.

"No! That was a legit question! Today at the pond… I think I saw something."

"What was it?" She said, raising an eyebrow.

"I think I saw… Some sort of spirit."

Her expressionless frown remained, but you thought you saw a spark of curiosity in her eye.

"A spirit? Like a ghost?"

"No… She was definitely real. More like some sort of creature."

"A creature… And it was a female you say?"

"I'm pretty sure."

"How do you know?"

"Well… She tried to kiss me… Actually, she did kiss me."

"She… kissed you?"

"Yeah."

"Really now…"

An attempt Rose had made to hide her curiosity vanished. She promptly stood up and began shuffling through the large, dusty books that littered the shelves on one side of her room. You assumed most people would have thought you crazy for talking about some creature that you'd accidentally kissed, but not Rose. She was obsessed with anything associated with the paranormal, and abandoned her earlier therapy-session in a flash as soon as you'd mentioned something occult. You, for once, were actually thankful to know her.

"Where was it… er, 'she'?" Rose called, now standing on the top of a step-stool, attempting to reach a book just above her fingertips.

"In the pond. She tried to drown me."

"SHE WHAT?"

"No, no, not like that. Well, kind of. She apologized later though."

"Right… So what did she look like?"

"She had this really creepy grey skin tone and glowing red eyes. She also had a tail. But when she got out of the water it vanished!"

"Why'd she get out of the water?"

"I don't really know. I guess to kiss me again."

"YOU LET IT KISS YOU AGAIN?"

"Shhhhhhh! Rose be quiet. You're mom's not that drunk. And please, I told you, I think she's a girl."

"_You let __**'her'**__ kiss you again?_" She repeated; her voice now a whispery hiss.

"Well, yes."

"Are you insane? We don't even know what it is!"

"I think she said she was a Nippy or something."

Rose grabbed a book and started to frantically turn pages. You'd never seen her so concentrated.

"Close. I think she's a Nixie."

"NIXIE! That sounds about right. It's like a mermaid or something isn't it?"

"Similar."

"Does it say what will happen if you kiss one?" You ask nervously.

"Actually, it does. You'll apparently turn into a sea creature."

"W-WHAT?"

"Unfortunately, it takes a bit for the transformation to be complete, so you probably broke it off before she managed to make you a pet fish."

"…"

"But from the looks of things, you may have the power to breathe underwater now."

"No way, seriously?" You said, running off towards her bathroom and filling up the sink.

You returned a few minutes later with exhausted lungs and a giggling Rose.

"I was kidding! Oh my God you're so gullible it's almost uncool!"

"So there's not a chance of me turning into a fish?"

"Not if you don't have sloppy make-outs with her anymore."

"I think I can manage that. Any advice on what I should do now?"

"I don't know. That depends."

"Depends on what?"

"Well, are you willing to put up with having a magical creature as a friend?"

She was staring at you rather seriously, as if this was a very important question that would decide your fate. It was kind of creeping you out.

"Is it hard or something?"

"No, not particularly. It can be fun though."

"How do you know?"

She smiled for a second. A small Rose-smile. It wasn't much, but you knew her well enough to know she was thinking of something happy.

"Because I have one. A Wood-Sylph. Her name's Kanaya."

You'd never really considered that you may not be the only human on Earth who had met something magical. For all you know, the woods around this house were infested with them. It also explained why Rose was all obsessed with this stuff.

"Awesome. My cousin I thought was forever alone actually has a friend. Only she's a wood-sheet."

"Sylph, Dave."

"Whatever. No matter what I decide about our relationship, I'm gonna have to go back there and get my sunglasses anyway."

"I was wondering why you weren't wearing those horrid things."

"It wasn't my fault, a lot was happening at that moment."

"I suppose interaction will be inevitable then."

"I guess. I still don't see me becoming friends with a psycho like her."

"You'd be surprised how this world works." She smiled.

"And Dave?"

"Yes?"

"Have fun with your new girlfriend."

"Shut up Rose."

**==Dave: Greet Terezi, receive shades of awesomeness.**

The next day you set out for your new "friend" again, dreading the upcoming meeting more and more with each step you took. Rose had parted ways with you a little farther down the path, claiming to have a previously arranged meet-up whom you assumed must have been with this Kanaya girl. As you approached the clearing you were aggravated by the clear lack of sunglasses on the grassy bank where you left them. You supposed that the surrounding kids may have taken them, but found a mischievous Nixie to be the more obvious choice.

"Hey! Terezi, right? Yeah, I'm here for my glasses. And don't think for a second I that I'll believe you don't have them."

Silence answers you.

"I know you're in there somewhere."

The surface of the pool began to bubble, and like last time, two hands shot through the water as the creature jumped into the air. You fell onto your back, and instinctively grabbed ahold of the grass around you just in case she had murderous intentions again.

"DAAAAAAVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" Her voice cried out as she landed on top of you, fins and all.

"I missed you cool kid~"

She smiled, almost as if she didn't notice she'd essentially just tackled you. She began to lean in to kiss you again, but this time you managed to push her away.

"Not happening today, mer-girl. There is no way in hell I'm letting you turn me into a fish. Now would you please get off of me?"

She pouted.

"That's wasn't my intention I hope you know."

"Doesn't really matter. Sunglasses please?"

"Aww, you're no fun, Dave."

She snickered, and rolled off of him onto the grass.

"Can you just go get my glasses?"

"Sorry. Can't."

"Why not?"

"Tail."

"What about it?"

"It's not gonna change."

You looked down at her scale-covered tale. Sure enough, even though she was lying on the dry bank it was retaining its shape.

"Wait a minute… Why isn't it turning back?"

"That's because it's Sunday silly."

"And that's supposed to explain what…?"

"I can only turn into my human form on Saturdays. Go Google it or something, you can get the full story on Wikipedia. Trust me I looked it up. You humans have really weird mythology about us."

"Wait-you have internet?"

"No. I just sit in this pool all day dreaming of cool kids." She retorted.

You shook you head. You'd ask about her access to the web later.

"Whatever. Can you just tell me where my shades are? I need those things."

She laughed at you.

"In your bedroom. On your nightstand."

"What?"

"I snuck into your house and returned them last night."

"YOU WHAT?"

"Nice My Little Pony sheets by the way. Real cool-kid material."

You just stared at her in astonishment, before resting your head back on the ground.

"A mermaid sneaks into my bedroom and watches me sleep. Awesome."

"Hey, you left them here and I returned them. Beggers can't be choosers."

"I'm starting to wish you would have just drowned me."

"I told you I was sorry about that! And I probably would have if you were actually a fire demon. You also would have exploded the moment I kissed you."

"Do I _look_ like a fire demon to you?"

"Well, kind of."

"Yes, because teenaged human boys in the middle of mental breakdowns just scream 'fire demon'."

She shrugged, sat up and dipped her tail into the water. You sat up as well, joining her in looking across the pond.

"You could have been tricking me. As soon as I saw your eyes I just kind of overreacted and automatically assumed Vriska had sent you to kill me."

"My eyes…?"

"Yeah genius. Your eyes. I don't know if you've ever looked in the mirror without your shades on, but they're bright flaming red. Where I come from, red eyes equals fire demon."

You thought about that for a moment. You'd always been a little self-conscious of your eyes, but you'd never thought of them as demonic.

"Sooo… Am I a demon?"

"Nah. I doubt it. But it's probably in the bloodline somewhere. You know your family too well?"

"Just my bro. But he's as cool and normal as they come."

"Hm. Maybe it's just a mutation then. You honestly don't look like anyone in cahoots with Vriska anyway."

"So who's this Vriska chick? You keep mentioning her."

"She's sort of my sister-slash-greatest-enemy. And she's pretty much a huge bitch. It's complicated." She said, sounding almost frustrated.

"Oh."

"Yep."

You both sat in silence for a bit, staring across the pond.

"Hey Terezi."

"Uh-huh?"

"Rose said that I should become friends with you."

"You know the Lalonde kid?"

"She's my cousin. Do you know her? She didn't seem to be aware of you."

"Not really. She's friends with the Rainbow Drinker in the forest around here."

You look at her, feeling a little embarrassed. This was stupid. And so uncool.

"Anyway, since you apparently can only walk on Saturdays, do you want to maybe hang out with me then? I can show you what humans do for fun. As friends of course."

Her face broke into a huge smile, razor sharp teeth flashing.

"As bros?"

"Uhh… Sure I guess. As bros. Even though you're a girl and technically that's not the correct term-"

"Oh shut up Strider. Are we friends or not?"

"As long as you don't try and kiss me again…" You smirked.

"Yeah. We're friends."

_**A/N: Thanks so much guys! I'm having a fun time writing this, and I hope you enjot it as much as I do~**_


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Thank you so so so so sooooo much everybody! Every time I got an email for a favorite, alert, or review I literally jumped for joy! (seriously. Ask my brother.) But yeah, you guys are so awesome. Thanks again. Unfortunately this chapter didn't turn out as awesome as I'd hoped, but I really wanted to improve their relationship just a little before I start the plot. So hang in there with me!**_

**==Rose: Be the seer, foreshadow something creepy.**

You're now Rose Lalonde and feeling pretty badass about it. You've been a seer for a while now, using your gift to see the future like the before-mentioned badass. It wasn't really clear, but sometimes you managed to grasp a fuzzy outline of events soon to come. It was a gift supposedly passed down for generations in your family, and you assume it may be the reason your mother started drinking. But that's really none of your concern right now. You are a seer. A regulator of all things that will come to pass. A child gifted with untold sight. And you are pretty damn happy about it.

You were currently trying to break through the fogginess that surround your cousin and the insane Nixie that had taken a liking to him. It wasn't easy. The whole timeline seemed to be in chaos after their first meeting. Kanaya had warned you about Terezi's way of being... Unpredictable. It sure made your job a lot harder. And you feared whether encouraging Dave to make friends with her was the right decision. Honestly you'd simply wanted another human's company that could relate to your situation of being mortal in a magical world, and hadn't even sought to check what such outcomes would be. It seems you may have accidentally set up Dave with a psychopath. It was okay though, the future will happen no matter what part you play in it. Maybe.

And it didn't seem that bad. From what you could worm out of Dave he'd gone to see her several times since he'd retrieved his glasses, and that Terezi was "actually kind of cool" as he put it. You would have gone for something more poetic to describe the relationship, but you supposed that was Dave's way of saying they were budding into friendship.

You were still worried though. Terezi was the blind spot to your all-seeing eyes. An unpredictable wave among your controlled sea. She seemed to be harmless though. Hopefully.

But you'd discuss this later with Kanaya. There'd been other disturbances recently as well too. Yes, the universe currently seemed to currently be, as Karkat would say it, "a clusterfuck of horrific proportions". It was bothering you deeply.

**==Dave: Be the uncool boyfriend.**

Pft. As if you'd ever be her boyfriend, much less an uncool one.

As you walked towards your new friend's pond you felt nothing but pure Dave-confidence. You'd settled into this idea of magical creatures living among civilization fairly well, and a few lessons from both Terezi and Rose had brought you pretty much up to speed. You had a feeling Rose knew way more than the basic stuff she'd lectured you about, but you felt it rude to pester her any farther. After all, she'd always been rather secretive and mysterious.

But it was Saturday now (no school, no chores, no Lalondes) so you didn't have to worry about anything. Your hang out with Terezi was going to be the most awesomest friend-date the world had ever seen. Adding yet another title to your already vast collection of awesome titles.

Yeah, you were definitely not uncool.

As you parted the curtain of Weeping Willow leading into her clearing, you found her already in her humanoid form, waiting for you. She turned when she heard you, a wicked smile you'd now gotten used to spreading across her face. She seemed to be dressed in normal clothes; an ensemble made up of skinny jeans, red sneakers, and a black T-shirt with some sort of weird symbol on it. It looked a little out of place on her, but she seemed to be enjoying herself.

"Dave~ You're late!" She called. Running-well more like stumbling- up to greet you.

"Hey now, careful there. You sure you can walk today?" You replied to her as she gave you a quick hug.

She stood up a little taller in front of you.

"Of course. I'll be fine! Look, Kanaya and Rose even stopped by with one of your human outfits!"

She spun a circle around to show you.

"You made a decision on what you want to do today?" You asked.

"Hmm... I don't really know. A lot of the things you described sound really cool. What do you usually do on Saturdays?" She inquired.

"Me? I usually just chill. Or hang out with my friend John."

"And what do you do when you 'hang out'?"

"I don't know... Go eat, see a movie, stuff like that. We could do that if you want."

She frowned.

"A movie... That's with the big screen in a theater right?"

"Yeah. Is there something wrong with that? We don't have to go if you don't want to."

"Not really. In fact the idea of it sounds pretty cool. I just..."

"Great! Let's go then! John just told me about a new movie too-"

"-I just don't think it would really work though."

You gave her a confused expression.

"Dave... There's been something I've been meaning to tell you."

You're slightly confused about all this. Sure it starred Nick Cage, but what could she possibly have against a good movie?

"What's the matter?"

She closed her eyes and bit her lip. Her face suddenly deepening into a soft teal color. Was she... Blushing? Did you embarrass her or something?

"Dave...I'm blind."

"...What?"

"I'm blind. Sort of."

"You're... Blind?"

"Yes."

"Really?"

"Yes Dave. I'm not saying it again."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Well this officially makes me feel like a douche. I guess a movie is out then."

"Hey, you didn't know. I mean, I watch TV a lot, but a theater screen is kind of far away..."

"You have television? How do you watch it? Wait a minute this isn't the time for questions like this. Can I do something for you? I don't really know what blind people need. Hang on I didn't mean that. Damn it Dave stop being so rude-"

"Dude, calm down. It's cool. I'm used to it."

"..."

"I promise it's all good. Just don't treat me any different than before."

"Okay. I think I'm good. We're still going to have the best time ever I hope you know. Maybe a lunch-date is better though? We can figure out what to do from there."

She giggled.

"Sure! Whatever you say cool kid."

"But seriously. You sure don't seem blind. I guess you have magical powers or something that help you function?"

"Something like that. My senses are actually just really heightened. I can smell and taste what's going on usually."

"That's... cool."

"You're not creeped out?"

"Has there been a moment around you that I haven't been creeped out?"

"Shut up and take me on the date. We're burning daylight here!"

"Okay, okay. But first I have to give you something." You said, pulling a case out of your pocket.

"Aww you got me a present? You're really laying the not-dating-just-friends vibe on thick here, Dave."

"It was more out of the fact your eyes scare the shit out of me, but yeah, I got you a present."

"Something smells like strawberries!" She said, voice filled with excitement.

You opened the case to reveal one of the coolest looking pairs of sunglasses ever. They were bright red (a color you'd noted that she seemed to enjoy), and you'd chosen the style yourself. You picked them up and placed them gently on her face, stepping back to admire your handiwork. She just kind of stood there, a hand feeling the metal.

"Well, do you like them?"

"Oh my Gog Dave this is like the best present ever! Do you know what this means Dave? DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?"

She started jumping up and down around you ecstatically.

"Not really... What does this mean?"

"It means we're like the coolest of the cool buddies! We've got ironic friend-dates and complimentary shades and everything! Now c'mon I want to see what the rest of these human dates are like! Comeoncomeoncomeoncomeon!"

"Alright, we're going!" you said, starting to walk towards the exit with her pulling you along.

"But before we do anything else I must ask you; have you ever had the pleasure of sinking your unusually sharp teeth into a Big Mac?"

"What's a Big Mac?"

"Looks like they don't have everything where you come from!" You smiled, grabbing her hand as you both began your run out of the forest.

**==Terezi: Complain the whole date like a good girlfriend.**

Pft. As if. You weren't Dave's girlfriend and you were certainly not complaining about this almost-date.

Well, maybe a little. But after all, you were known for stirring up trouble.

"Daaaave!" You whined out as he set down a tray in front of you.

"This human food center is disgusting! And I'm pretty sure someone back in that kitchen area hasn't taken a shower in weeks!"

"Shut up and try it fish-girl. McDonald's and Starbucks is all I ever eat. Well, when Ms. Lalonde isn't trying to poison me with meatloaf that is."

"What's a starbuck?"

"Starbucks. It's coffee."

"Coffee...? That sounds fun! Can we get that later?"

"No way. I think caffeine is the last thing you need. Just eat your burger."

You pouted.

"Fine. But I can't guarantee I'll like this crap. It smells all salty. Like ocean water."

He picked up his lunch and took a bite. You mimicked his movements with your own hamburger, lifting it up to your mouth.

"Hmmm..." You said, tasting the bizarre mix of flavors.

"Well? You like it?"

"It's actually pretty good for smelling like dead reheated cow."

You sensed Dave making a disgusted face. It wasn't a good look for him.

"Terezi, we're eating. Stop killing the mood."

You stuck your tongue out at him.

"It's not like this was a classy date to begin with."

"I thought you said we were bros. Bros don't take bros on classy dates."

"Well, I'm a lady. Even if we're bros you should have thought this through better."

You narrowed your eyes at him and took your own sip of the drink he'd gotten you.

"BLUH!" You screamed, spitting out a large portion of the liquid.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS!"

You immediately felt the eyes of everyone in the room staring at you. You quickly grabbed a napkin and attempted to wipe your mouth clean as well as hide the blue tint flooding your face. You looked to Dave a little sheepishly, giving him a lopsided toothy grin. He seemed to have remained expressionless, but after a couple awkward moments of silence he let out a snicker.

"A lady, huh."

"Hey! That's mean!"

He kept it up though, the snicker growing into a full on laugh.

"Dave, stop laughing! People are looking!"

"Come on! Are you sure they're not staring because you just did a spit take of epic proportions?" He joked, still laughing like a little kid.

You tried not to blush again.

"I... Just thought it would be water..."

"It's just Coke. Not like it was toxic or anything."

"It's weird." You said, pushing the drink as far away from you as possible.

"You're weird."

"Whatever you want to think. This friend-date sucks by the way."

"Don't complain to the guy that just gave you your first hamburger. And besides, it's not like I'm used to taking chicks on dates. Friend-wise or not."

"Oh that's right! I almost forgot you were a socially awkward cool kid."

"Hey! It's not like that. Most just don't understand my coolness. The whole situation's pretty ironic if I do say so myself."

"Suuuuuure. Put on the misunderstood genius act. That'll reel in the friends." You sneered at him.

"But you've got that one kid don't you?"

"John? Yeah we're pretty close. Mostly it's because neither of us associate much with others though."

"That's cute! Maybe you're not as much of a loner as you think."

"He's a dork though."

"But he's still your friend. That's what counts right?"

"Yeah, I guess." He sighed," What about you though? You have any friends?"

"Hm?"

"Don't tell me you just sit in that pond all day waiting for me to get home from school."

"Of course not! I have places to be too."

"Well, do you ever hang out with anybody but me then?"

"I'll have you know that I'm a part of a very elite group of warriors. There are twelve of us, and I happen to be good friends with many of them."

"Anyone in particular? I did tell you about John, and it's comforting to know that I may not be the only person in this world getting harassed by you."

"Well… There is this one guy. His name's Karkat. But it's kind of complicated…"

"Complicated? Are you guys like dating or something?"

"No… Kinda… I don't really know. We have this weird 'love-you-hate-you-be-my-friend-I-wish-you-would-go-die-in-a-hole' kind of relationship. Does that make sense?"

"Not in the slightest."

"Ugh. He's just an asshole that I can't help but liking. That a little clearer?"

"A little bit. But if he's an ass, why do you hang around him?"

"I… just can't help myself. It's like I know he's a douchebag, and yet deep down in my heart I want to be his friend. Is that weird?"

"To me it is. But I'm not too familiar with your culture to judge. It's not really any of my business either."

"Let's change the subject." You said, becoming annoyed with the simplest thought of Karkat, "You have any other questions for me?"

"Actually, I do." Dave started, "It's been bugging me how you have a computer. Last time I checked you lived in a pond."

"Actually, I live with my friends in a cave located just outside of town. That pond is connected to an underground river system that runs pretty much over this entire area, so I can get around fairly well without legs. Guy named Sollux set up laptops for all of us, and that's when I discovered the amazing world of the internet."

"So… You guys are pretty tech-y for mythical creatures."

"Pretty much" You smiled.

"Then why hang around the pond by Rose's house?"

"I've told you about Karkat and Vriska. I think you can assume how most of these guys act. I like to be alone sometimes, mostly because I don't have to constantly worry about sensing new things."

"I see. Am I bothering you then? I didn't mean to interrupt your peace and quiet." He said, almost with a worried tone.

"Of course not! You're like the coolest dude to hang out with ever."

He smiled. A true, genuine smile. You let the full scent of it hit you.

"I know. Just making sure. Now c'mon. I've got an awesome surprise to replace the movie."

**==Dave: Be the cool kid, lose to a girl.**

You stepped out of the fog-filled chamber with a smirk on your face. Feeling confident you'd mopped the floor with the losers around you. Terezi bounced behind you as best she could, her vest looking awkward and oversized on her thin frame.

"OhmygoshDave thatwassofreakingawesome howdidInotknowyouhumans hadstufflikethis!"

You'd noticed that whenever Terezi got particularly excited her words would just gush out of her mouth. They both began to take off their equipment as she continued to babble on.

"Itremindedmesomuch ofmyflarpingdayswithVriska onlycoolercause Iwaswithyou! Didyousee megetthatguy ontheshoulder? Heneversawitcoming!"

Yep. Laser tag was definitely the right choice. You went with John a lot, and figured Terezi to be enough of a tom-boy to enjoy fake-shooting people (you were right). You'd also considered that once everyone was in there, it was essentially pitch black; evening the playing field just a bit for her. You'd hoped her weird smelling powers would help her too. And hopefully she wouldn't come in last.

As you both headed out into the lobby, you made a dash towards the monitor displaying your scores.

[Name:-Rank:-Score:]

[gallowsCalibrator-1st-4,130]

[turntechGodhead-2nd-3,140]

No way. No. Fucking. Way.

Not only had she beat you, she'd destroyed you. The chick who could barely walk just crushed every bit of your Strider-swag in one game of laser tag. Not only that, but you had the upmost horror of looking down at the game-log.

[gallowsCalibrator-shot-eternalKiller]

[gallowsCalibrator-shot-colossalExtremist]

[gallowsCalibrator-shot-earthlyDestroyer]

[gallowsCalibrator-shot-insaneExecutioner]

The list… it just went on and on. You couldn't believe it. She'd shot everyone in the whole game at least several times. What was going on? Had a blind mermaid really just kicked your ass at laser tag?

Her name was called, and she walked up confidently to receive her winning certificate. Flipping her hair as the other teenaged boys in their group stared at her in astonishment. You knew you should probably be patching up your broken self-esteem, but deep down you felt something else; pride. It was like; "Yeah dudes. That's my friend who totally just pwned you. And no, she's not interested in dating any of you losers. Deal with it."

You laughed at the thought. Boy, you'd showed more emotion today than in the past six months. What was the world coming to?

"Hehehehehe! Dave! Dave! I beat you Dave! And it was my first time too! That's good right!"

"Hey great job, mer-girl. I can't believe that was your first time playing. But don't think I'll let it happen again." You said to her as she made her way back to you.

"You have fun?" you asked, loving the charming psychotic smile she flashed in your direction.

"What do you think? That was the greatest thing ever!"

"Has the date been renewed from the crappy lunch?"

"So this is officially a date?"

"You know what I meant."

"Yes. It has officially made up for you feeding me reheated cow."

"Perfect. So did I succeed in giving you an awesome I-have-feet day?"

"Yes, Dave. It was the coolest of ironic friend dates. Whatever the hell an 'ironic friend date' is."

**==Dave: Be the gentleman, walk the girl home like a Strider.**

The walk home was pretty uneventful. Terezi had calmed down significantly and was now smiling contentedly as she wrapped herself around your arm.

"Hey Dave…?"

"Yo."

"Thank you, for today."

"No prob."

"Seriously. That was the most fun I've had in a very, very long time."

She leaned up very slowly and planted a small kiss on your cheek, seeming to watch your body language to see if it was okay. You, on the other hand, were completely unsure of what to do. It was so sweet, and you could see she was blushing.

C'mon Strider think of something quick-

Suddenly you felt something wet on your face, moving up your now blushing cheek. And then back down. And then back up again. And then retracted off your skin to let the wind freeze on the damp spot. You felt completely horrified.

"Oh my God, did you just lick me?" You exclaimed, jumping away from her.

She started cackling insanely again, as if she was unaware of how much she'd just ruined the moment.

"Sorry, sorry! I was just so close and you smelled so delicious and-"

"I smelled delicious? What does that even mean?"

"Your blood! It smells like cherries! It tastes even better too~"

"Okay. Let's say from here on out no more licking. It's creepy and disturbing and-ohmygoddidyoujustlickyourlips?"

"Fine. I'm stopping. Happy?"

"More relieved, but yes; happy."

"Bluh. Why're there so many rules in human relationships."

"There's not. You're just weird."

"You've expressed that to me already."

"Come on, you better get back."

You stepped with her into the clearing.

"Goodbye then. I hope to see you tomorrow?" You asked.

"Of course cool-kid. I'll be here!" She said, giving you one last hug before turning towards her pond.

_**A/N: I'm gonna give a quick little shoutout/dedication to my friend that I actually go on ironic friend dates with. And thank him for not getting mad at me when I kick his ass at laser tag.**_

_**Plot starts next time :D**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: I don't think this turned out very good, but it was pretty fun to write all these characters! And they'll be important later. I want to apologize for the small break too. I really don't know what happened. But yes, please enjoy this chapter!**_

**==Dave: Meet the huge bitch, the asshole, and the Wood-sheet**

You are now Dave Strider and celebrating the awesome lack of school today. As the last week of school before summer always was, you were officially allowed to leave after morning classes. You'd decided to check up on Terezi for your afternoon off. You had wanted to grab a quick lunch with John today, but the derp had decided to cancel last minute. Not that you were particularly angry about this. It wasn't uncommon for John to ditch you, and if anything you were glad to have more time to hang out with Terezi.

Well, at least hanging out with Terezi was the plan. But you were starting to notice things with Terezi never went according to plan.

As you pushed into the clearing you were hit with blinding bright lights. After a few blinks you managed to make out the shapes of several people scampering around with two figures pulsing with vibrant bright magic above them.

You recognized the one on the right immediately.

Terezi hovered above her pond, her usual smile replaced with an infuriated scowl. She was riding on what appeared to be a giant dragon that's clear body must have been made from water. It mimicked each movement its master made, and flapped its iridescent wings in obvious anger. You noticed Terezi's eyes were literally glowing; like coals burning in the grey of her skin. It reminded you of the way they'd looked when she first attacked you. Only they were meaner- the mischievous light from before diminishing as she glared ahead.

Across the clearing was their target.

She also hovered over the ground, but instead of a dragon she had a large pair of deep blue wings keeping her afloat. She had a bright orange outfit with matching orange sparks dancing off her every movement. She was glowing too, adding to the allusion that she seemed to be on fire, and the effect caused her blue wings to look like the center of a flame. A large spider crawled through the air around her, its body seeming to be made of a roaring blaze. Her sneer completed the evil look, and she kept laughing in pure delight.

They looked like any second they would go rip each other's throats out, but the four other kids seemed to be determined to stop that from happening.

Rose was the first person you spotted. She was standing next to a very angry looking boy, yelling something in another language at Terezi in what must have been an attempt to calm her down. She was dressed in some weird dark outfit with a pink sash though, and seemed to be glowing a strange lilac color. The boy next to her was wearing relatively normal clothes, but the nubby horns on his head and bright red sparks he gave off seemed to definitely give off an inhuman vibe. He was also yelling something at Terezi, but it sounded more like curse words and occasionally her name than trying to get her to chill out. She seemed to be ignoring them both; as she made no notion to anyone but the spider-girl in front of her.

Around the "Spider-girl" was a boy that seemed to be wearing some sort of weird blue pajamas with an oversized hood. He had the ability to fly too, but it was less controlled than his friend with wings. It was like he was trying really hard to keep himself in the air. He waved his hands around her and smiled, but he seemed a little nervous about confronting her.

In the middle of it all was a rather pretty girl growing increasingly agitated. She wore a Jade colored dress (that blended in with the surrounding trees, you noticed) with a red sash, and was biting her lip in obvious frustration.

Yeah, you were pretty sure this wasn't the plan. But whatever. Giant flaming spiders and water dragons were cool too.

"BOTH OF YOU! CUT IT OUT THIS INSTANT!"

Everyone stopped and whipped around to face the girl in the middle. The two girls currently in a heated almost-battle faltered a little, staring at their friend.

"THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A PEACE MEETING BETWEEN YOU TWO! IT WAS NOT MENT TO START UP OLD FUEDS!" She screamed.

She sighed and shook her head. You could visibly notice the worried look on everyone's faces.

"Sorry, sorry. I shouldn't yell. It's just sometimes I think it's the only way to mediate between you two." She said, significantly quieter, and turned towards you.

"Someone arrived and you didn't even notice."

"Dave!" Terezi exclaimed as everyone looked to you.

The dragon beneath her immediately dissolved to nothing but pond water and she quickly dived down into her pool. She popped up a few seconds later; physically normal but uncharacteristically quiet.

"Hi... Dave."

She slunk to the edge of the pond, only her head above water. You thought you noticed that distinctive bluish hue in her face from before.

"…I guess you saw that… sorry."

You gave her a reassuring smile.

"Pretty badass, mer-girl."

"WAIT WAIT WAIT. WHAT IS GOING ON? WHO THE FUCK IS THIS GUY?" The boy that had been cursing at Terezi earlier looked around wildly as if demanding someone to fill him in.

"Karkat. This is Rose's cousin Dave. He's friends with Terezi." The kind girl continued from before, holding out a hand to you.

"I'm Kanaya, resident Wood-Sylph Rainbow Drinker. Rose may have told you about me. It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Yeah… nice to meet you too."

"OH, YOU KNOW, BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY THE FIRST THING WE NEED TO DO IS INTRODUCE OURSELVES TO THIS INSUFFERABLE PRICK! WITH VRISKA AND KANAYA DRAGGING ALONG THEIR LITTLE PETS, LET'S JUST MAKE OUR GROUP OPEN TO EVERYONE'S HUMANS!" The one she'd called Karkat yelled in disgust.

Oh, so this was the douchebag. Yep. She was right. He's an asshole.

"Pleeeeeeeease, Karkat. As if you wouldn't drag that Jade girl everywhere if you could!" The spider-girl smirked.

The boy went red with either anger or embarrassment.

"Vriska, stop starting fights. Karkat, stop yelling." Kanaya's voice called, seeming concerned.

"WHAT! NO WAY! THE UNIVERSE IS GOING TO END AND YOU GUYS ARE SNOGGING IT UP WITH HUMANS!"

"Terezi. Please calm him down." The Wood-Sylph turned to Terezi, who scowled.

"Do I have to? He'll quiet down eventually."

"Please, we have things to discuss."

"Ugh. Fine."

"Thank you."

"KARKAT! SHUT YOUR FUCKING MOUTH BEFORE I RIP IT OFF YOUR IGNORANT FACE AND LICK AWAY ALL THE DELICIOUS BLOOD!" Terezi screamed.

Karkat opened his mouth to reply, but then simply glowered in disgust.

"That was by far the most disgusting thing you've come up with yet. Fine. Fine, you psychopathic Nixie. But I'm being the bigger man here I hope you know."

"Yes. Because you're such a great person Karkat."

"You know what? I'm not in the mood to deal with your bullshit."

The glared at each other for a second, then turned away, refusing to make eye contact. The spider girl (you were pretty sure was the Vriska you'd heard about) was laughing again while Kanaya attempted to intervene with the obvious brewing fight.

Rose came up to you, worry on her face.

"You okay?"

"I… guess."

"They're not usually this bad if you're wondering."

"Am I interrupting something?"

"They were just meeting with Terezi over an upcoming battle. She'll have to work with Vriska, so they wanted to make sure the two of them wouldn't turn on each other during the fight."

"That looks like it went smoothly." You joked, Rose simply shook her head.

"I would have told you not to come, but I was informed you were going to lunch with friends today."

"I was, but John cancelled on me."

Rose narrowed her eyes as there was a fearful chuckle behind her.

"You said you'd made sure he wasn't coming!"

"I did! And then I remembered I should probably be here to watch over Vriska so I cancelled!"

What? You were thoroughly confused now.

"And that makes sense how? This is by far the stupidest thing you've ever done! What part of keeping him away didn't you understand?" Rose said, lilac field around her spiking.

"Hey don't be mean! I just didn't think it through, that's all!"

"You knew he would come and see Terezi!"

You thought it best to interrupt now, before your brain exploded from confusion.

"Hold up guys. What the hell is going on right now?"

They both looked at each other. The boy then proceeded to lift up his giant hood to reveal his mess of dark hair. He had bright eyes covered by square glasses with an all too familiar goofy buck-toothed smile.

"J-John!" You stuttered.

"Hey Dave! I didn't know you were friends with Terezi! Rose was telling me about it. Guess that makes us mortal enemies then, huh? But that's okay, we're still bros. And Vriska's not that bad when you get to know her-"

"John. Shut up. I think Dave's central cranial processor just exploded."

You let her insult of your intelligence roll off your back.

"I-I don't understand... Are you magic or something?"

"Kinda. My grandma was a wind spirit or some weird thing like that, and I inherited her powers!" He said, lifting himself just a little off the ground.

"... And I'm guessing you are too, Rose?"

"You could say that the grimdark powers from beyond have bestowed untold sight among me and my ancestors." She nodded.

Your head felt foggy. Apparently your best friend and cousin were now half-wizard or some shit like that.

"Sooo... You guys were magic and never told me? And what's this about keeping me away? What's going on that I can't know about?"

"Technically people associated with the magical world are not allowed to spread knowledge of it. For obvious reasons. And really there was no need to tell you. As for why I didn't want you here, these meetings can get a little violent. Since you don't have any powers I didn't want you to get hurt." Rose explained.

"Yeah, but doesn't he have powers too, Rose? Vriska was talking about him-"

Rose gave John a very evil eye, causing him to shut up immediately.

"Powers?" You asked, giving a questioning look at your cousin.

"Nothing, Dave. Vriska just likes to talk-"

"Oh drop the act Lalonde. You're not doing him any favors by keeping it from him." Vriska smiled, flying up to their small group.

"After all, isn't he the little brother of Strider? I'm sure he can handle it~"

"Vriska. Shut it. Now" Rose said dangerously.

"Oh, excuse me! I didn't know the poor boy had to be kept in the dark about everything." She sneered.

"You knew my brother?"

"Vriska. Stop."

"Of course I knew your brother! We all did. I bet you've got his same magic, don't you? Oh I'd love to know."

"Do you know where he is!" You said.

Barely anyone knew your brother, and the police had stopped looking fairly quickly. That's why you'd had to move in with Rose. But these people apparently knew him well. Could they know where he was?

Your head started spinning quickly at the buzzard turn of events. How could your Bro have known about all this?

"Stop talking Vriska."

"I'll say whatever I damn want you-"

She was interrupted as a giant flume of water rushed onto her head, the force of it knocking her over. She was reduced to a soaked heap on the ground, wings heavy and glow put out. She whipped around to see Terezi sitting on the bank of her pool, smirking.

"AUGH! I HATE YOU SO MUCH YOU BLIND BITCH!"

"You've been warned to stop talking. I suggest you do so." Terezi said, allowing herself a snicker as John helped Vriska to her feet.

"No wait! I want to know!" You exclaimed.

"Dave, drop it. I'll talk to you later."

Terezi's voice had turned stern again.

"C'mon John, let's go. I've had my fair share of 'bonding time' today."

"A-Are you sure Vriska? You haven't really made any plans yet-"

"Let's go."

John nodded and lifted Vriska into the air, her wings obviously still too wet to fly.

"Good bye spiderbitch! Don't let a tree branch hit your coward ass on the way out!" Terezi called.

"Love you too, sis." Vriska snarled back.

John gave you a half-hearted wave before leaving with his friend. You really wished he would stay so you could ask him questions. It was a weird feeling to know that your friend had been keeping such a huge secret from you. But, you supposed that would have to wait for another time.

"I can't believe you guys are leaving! We've accomplished absolutely nothing today!" Karkat yelled at them as they left, but they didn't look back.

You were starting to get the feeling most people just ignored him.

"Oh just shut up Karkat. It's not like we accomplish anything at meetings anyway." Terezi said.

"Both of you need to cut it out. We've still got our little... Problem. I'm assuming we should all just meet in the lab tonight?" Kanaya gave both of them a hopeful expression.

"I guess. Not like we did anything today. I'll text Sollux to get the word out. And no humans allowed, got it?"

Karkat took his phone out of his pocket and also started to walk towards the exit.

"Goodbye Karkles~" Terezi crooned, her voice returning to normal.

"Fuck you, Pyrope."

Kanaya sighed again.

"I guess I should go as well. I've still got to finish up with the forest for today."

"Kanaya, may I join you? I believe we have some things to discuss, and I think Terezi wants to speak with Dave."

Kanaya smiled, and they too left the clearing.

**==Terezi: Attempt to keep your bro from being desperately confused about everything.**

This isn't going to happen... Is it.

"So..." You started, not exactly sure what to say.

"So..." He replied, still standing in the middle of the clearing rather awkwardly.

"That water-dragon-thing was pretty epic. Any other badass powers I should know about?"

You let out a surprised laugh.

"You just got a truck full of unanswered questions unceremoniously dumped on you, and that's the first thing you want to ask me?"

He shrugged.

"If you must know, I have wings too only I keep them tucked in for the sake of swimming purposes, if I smooch a corpse I can make them come back to life at the sacrifice of my powers, I'm pretty good with staffs and swords, I can manipulate water to do whatever I want, and I can occasionally glimpse the future. That satisfy your curiosity?"

"And every one of you fairy-things can do stuff like that?"

"Obviously we all have different powers, but yeah, essentially."

"Wow. So you guys are like soldiers for real."

"Or over-powered, immature morons. They're interchangeable."

He cracked a smile at that.

"And I'm pretty sure I heard something about saving the universe in that disaster back there. Are you like the Avengers or something?"

"I personally prefer Justice League," You replied, allowing yourself another snicker, "But yes, we do take on similar tasks. But it's more to protect ourselves than the Earth. I highly doubt any of my teammates would give an imp's ass about what happens to you mortals."

"Heh. I should have figured. Karkat didn't seem exactly taken to me. What about those other two chicks though? Kanaya and Vriska? What's their deal with Rose and John?"

"They're... Exceptions. Karkat too. Obviously they've all taken a liking to a human. And since your friends have partially magic blood, it flies past the 'no conversing with humans' rule."

"Wait... Karkat is friends with a human? That poor kid."

"I suppose 'friend' isn't exactly the correct term, but he has some sort of strange relationship with her. But from what I can tell it mostly consists of swearing and threats. Really gets him ticked off, but he always ends up coming back for more."

"I'd love to meet anyone who enjoys pissing off Karkat."

You both laughed, but you could tell this wasn't the conversation he was looking for.

"Seriously though. I'm pretty sure you have more questions than this."

You climbed up onto the bank and patted the grass next to you. He sat down, face in its usual impassive state. You wrapped yourself around his arm again, leaning into him. You refrained from licking him this time though, much to his obvious pleasure.

"Look, Terezi, I know that for some reason Rose doesn't want me to know anything. But if you know where my Bro is..." His voice was quiet and unemotional, a sound that made you almost sad.

You sighed. It was a simple enough question, but there were a few moments of silence before you answered him.

"Vriska was just running her mouth-"

"Don't give me that-"

"Let me finish. We don't know much about your Bro, other than he was one of the guardians working with us to protect this universe."

"So... He was a part of your weird team thing?"

"Not exactly. It is more of a collective effort between magic users like him, and our team of full blown magic creatures."

"I guess he's magic too? Damn. Why don't people ever tell me these things? God, even my derpy best friend knows more about this crap then I do."

"If it makes you feel better, they were probably just trying to protect you."

He held his face in his hands. He seemed... Sad? Confused? Angry? You really didn't know. For once you senses failed in breaking through his wall.

"Why's my life got to be all fucked up?"

You opened your mouth to reply but he cut you off.

"It's... Alright. I'm just a bit disorientated. Do you know where he is now? My Bro I mean."

You'd known this question would come.

"...We don't know the specifics, but he supposedly went missing a little while back. I'm supposing that's all you know too."

"What was he doing when he went missing?"

"..."

"Terezi. Please. He's the only real family I've ever known."

"He... Went after someone. Or rather, something."

"I'm assuming that 'something' has something to do with these meetings."

"Bulls-eye, cool kid."

He looked up at you, and you sensed sadness and upset radiating off him. It seemed strange. You'd forgotten this was the state he'd been in when you'd met him.

"And you won't tell me about it, will you."

"Other than a giant beast-dog is attacking the key to your universe? No."

"Helpful."

"Anytime."

He looked up now, and you could sense he was trying to regain control of his feelings.

"Okay... Then at least tell me one thing."

"Shoot."

"Do I really have magical powers?"

You cackled and gave him a big hug. He in turn shot you a smirk.

"If I say yes, will you kiss me?"

"Fuck no. I just want to know if I get a giant dragon too."

You were glad to his sudden return to his normal state, even if you knew he was only pushing his emotions down.

"Weeeell I don't know about the dragon, but there may be something inside my brain. Maybe you could jog my memory?" You said, leaning your face towards his.

"Not happening. Bros don't kiss bros."

"Don't think of it as a kiss. Think of it as platonic flirtation."

"I'm in the middle of a moment of mental instability and you're blackmailing me?"

"Ummm... Yes?"

"Will you just tell me if I have some damn powers already? The suspense is killing me."

You pouted and scrunched up your face in defiance.

"Fine." You grumbled, "Your brother was a Salamander. The chances are that you may have inherited his abilities."

"My brother was a lizard?"

"First of all, Salamanders are pretty much badass fire magician dudes. Second of all, even if I was referring to the non-reptilian species of amphibians, salamanders are not lizards. Nor will they ever be." You retorted at him with a scoff.

"So putting your insult to my knowledge of animal classifications aside, I have fire powers?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

"That's cool."

He reached out his hand, concentrating on it before letting out a huff of air.

"Damn. How does it work?"

"You can't just expect to torch anything right off the bat. You have to train for these things, dumbass."

He tried again.

"So you're gonna train me right?"

"What gives you that idea?"

"Well it's not like these beyond awesome powers are going to train themselves."

"Depends then."

"On what?"

"You letting me kiss you again."

"And we're back to this. Can't you just take a credit card or something?"

"My offer holds firm."

He shook his head and leaned forward, planting a soft kiss on your cheek.

"There. Now can you teach me how to blow stuff up?"

"Ugh. You're a kiss-fearing virgin and an asshole, but yes."

"Good. I expect nothing but the best."

"Whatever dude." You sneered, rolling your eyes.

"Tomorrow then? Sounds like you've got a very important Justice League meeting to attend tonight."

"If by important you mean a bunch of teenagers standing around bitching at each other, then yes."

"Have fun." He snickered.

"Oh, it's always a blast. Nothing like a motivational speech by Karkat to brighten the mood."

"Just don't forget our training."

"It's a date!" You smiled.

"Ironic friend date." He corrected.

"Oh, stop being such a mood killer."


End file.
